The Queen
by mychakk
Summary: One could say, there have been many chess pieces on the Chessboard that was Sherlock Holmes' life. But there was no Queen. Or so has James Moriarty thought.


**Title:** The Queen  
**Characters/Pairings: **Sherlock, Moriarty, Irene, Molly  
**Genre:** General, Philosophical mussing of a Psychopath  
**Warnings:** overuse of a metaphor  
**Rating:** K(+)  
**Chapters:** one-shot  
**Status:** complete

**Disclaimer:** I don't own BBC Sherlock nor the characters. Just playing with them.

**Summary:** One could say, there have been many chess pieces on the Chessboard that was Sherlock Holmes' life. But there was no Queen. Or so has James Moriarty thought.

**AN** _So it looks like my muse has awoken form her hibernation period. Might come with some more ficlets for this fandom. _

_Not-Beta'd, so all mistakes mine. _

_Nevertheless, enjoy!_

**xxx**

**The Queen**

**Xxx**

Chess.

A most intriguing (if rather _boring_ in the end) game. Yet, James Moriarty could not deny the fun in the analogy this game provided for his most interesting opponent. After all, one could say, there have been many chess pieces on the Chessboard that was Sherlock Holmes' life, right?

Firstly, there was the King himself. The _most_ important piece whose mere presence decides whether the game is _on_ or _off_. The One that sets all the other pieces' purpose and reason of existence – either protecting him, or if need arise – sacrificing oneself for him: The King. The one, James notes with a wicked smile, that needs to be overcome in order for him to win the game.

But that's not all; there were also the Pawns, weren't they? The simple pieces that are somewhat connected to the King. The first row of defense (and attack) that is ready to strike or move accordingly to the needs of their Most Important Chess Piece. Oh, James did note their existence even if dismissively, as those were mere insignificant pieces useful only with their simple actions. The uncountable Homeless people with their skillful ability to blend in the backgrounds through the streets of London. The nameless lab and morgue assistants at St. Bart's providing the needed (and expected) lab and experiments' results. The tiresome crime technicians and New Scotland Yard workers ready with meaningless cases and too-easy-to-solve puzzles. All the Pawns - on the periphery of The King's life but never _important_ enough to play a bigger role.

The Rooks were different. Sturdy and straight-forward in their moves. Ah, yes, with a simple action and the _Castling_ move they provide shelter (with additional help of a few pawns) for the King himself. The literal and the figurative one. An old lady with a tray full of biscuits, immeasurable amount of patience and healthy dose of affection. A silver-haired DI not giving up on The King in his most difficult time, but grudgingly bringing more and more interesting reasons to stay away from the siren-like calling of a needle. The Rooks. Although important enough, (James always pays _some_ attention to the _more_ significant ones), in the end, they stay - nonetheless - only on the side.

Next, there comes the Knight. Ah, the Knight! A most interesting piece, James notes satisfied. The sidekick to the King. Always on the stand-by, ready to jump into action. The military man with a moral spine, and yet …never moving in the simplest preferable way, James begrudgingly admits. You just seem to predict his move, and yet it ends up moving neither exactly in a straight line nor diagonally. It's just jumping suddenly into the middle of the battle turning the odds in most unsuspected way. Ah, yes, most interesting, the Knight. A piece that has not been present for a long time in the Chessboard until one day it just appeared …and stayed. The King's Right Hand, indeed. And, _boy_, did James have _such_ a fun using him to toy with the King. Oh, yes, he _did_!

Ah, right… Now-

The Bishop. Hm, the Bishop was actually a most elusive piece. One that stays close to the King (despite the King's obvious dissatisfaction) and one that is most concerned with protecting his precious little …King. The Bishop observes and strikes from the side, his moves never straight-forward, but shifty in their diagonal way. Just like the institution he works for, James cackles with glee. The Bishop thinks he can control everything, yet he doesn't even have a half the freedom to move as he'd please. Nothing but the ability to do some control damage to save and protect the King. Funny little piece, James decides, but not really worth that much attention in the end.

And finally, that leaves _the Queen_.

Or, as a matter of fact, the _lack_ of her on the Chessboard that is Sherlock Holmes' life.

Oh, James has noticed from the very beginning that there was no Queen present on the Chessboard. And thus, he thought he'd better send one. After all, a game cannot be played without all the pieces in attendance, right? Right! So James has found the _most_ suitable (to his own purposes, of course) Queen for the King! Elegant, posed, intriguing. The very epitome of _Queen-ness_ if he has to say so himself (and he did). And boy, did he have _fun_ observing her in action. Intriguing, eluding, …seducing. Just like he predicted, she has captured the King's attention with her intelligence (and her best _dress_ probably, too!). She has held it for months afterward, and worrying the Knight and the Bishop into sleeplessness. What a _fun_ it has all been!

And, yet… the supposed Queen James has sent did _not_ stay on board.

The King _himself_ has rejected her, removed her from the game.

And thus, there was still no Queen to start the proper stand-off between the Two Kings.

Or so James Moriarty _thought_.

For, you see, as he decided (_impatiently_) to play the game anyway (despite the lack of a full set of pieces on board); and as he started to _toy_ with the King, watching with glee as all the pieces – the Pawns, the Rooks, the Knight and even the Bishop – danced and moved and entertained _him_, James Moriarty has forgotten about one particular rule of the Chess Game.

And it has cost him _everything_.

As it happens, there has been this simple, unremarkable Pawn from Bart's. A dismissible one, not-mattering-at-all in Jim's-From-IT's bigger scheme. And this Pawn has slipped past his radar. Steadily and quietly she has moved on the board. Square after square. Past James' defenses and past his own pieces. Past his _own self_ to the other – James' – back rank of the board.

But the King has seen this and when she reached the opposed rank of the board, the King has seized the opportunity.

And suddenly! - _By the King's own making _\- there _was_ a Queen on Sherlock Holmes' side.

There was _THE_ Queen on Sherlock Holmes' side.

In the middle of James Moriarty's own pieces, there stood a havoc wrecking Nemesis in the form of a small, brown haired, chocolate eyed woman. With the power of life and death at her hands, she was able to move freely in every direction on the board.

And within that moment, all the carefully crafted plans James Moriarty has made, have crumbled like house of cards under a slight breeze. Even if the outcome was still death – it was not the one and not in the way James has predicted and anticipated.

Yes, with the appearance of _the_ Queen the game _has _been won.

But, even more so, with the appearance of _the_ Queen - just like that - James Moriarty has lost.

**xxx**

**End**

**xxx**

**AN:**_ Reviews makes my day (and may inspire the fickle muse of mine too) ;) _

_(for those following my Bones pieces – I'll be returning to them shortly). _


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